Tag Archives: Politics

Keir Starmer Insists There Was No State Cover-Up Over Southport Killer

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Keir Starmer has denied engaging in a cover-up to prevent the public knowing about Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s background in the aftermath of his murderous rampage.

The prime minister insisted he was following “the law of the land” to avoid the possibility of the case against the 18-year-old collapsing and him then being able to walk free.

Rudakubana yesterday pleaded guilty to murdering nine-year-old Alice da Silva Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year.

He also admitted the production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

It has since emerged that the killer was referred three times to the government’s Prevent anti-terrorism programme, but remained at large.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that a public inquiry will take place into the tragedy.

Senior politicians, including Nigel Farage and shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, have suggested ministers withheld information about Rudakubana so as to protect the reputation of senior figures and avoid a public backlash.

At a Downing Street press conference this morning, Starmer admitted that he had been told about the details about Rudakubana that were not made public.

But he said: “You know and I know that it would not have been right to disclose those details. The only losers if the details had been disclosed would be the victims and the families because it ran the risk the trial would collapse.

“I’m never going to do that. Never going to do that because they deserve that justice.

“And only by having the rules in place can that justice be delivered and I would never have been forgiven if they had. Those are not just my choices, though it is a choice I would make, but it is also the law of the land.

“That is why I couldn’t disclose the details, it is why others couldn’t disclose the details, it’s why all of you as journalists couldn’t disclose the details because the same laws applied to you just as they applied to me, and it’s really important that we make that clear.”

He added: “The importance of the rule about not disclosing this information is to ensure that the trial can take place and that where an individual is guilty they can be held to account, as has happened in this case.”

However, the PM also pledged to identify any failings by the state over the Southport killings.

He said: “I am also under no illusions that until the wider state shows the country it can change not just what it delivers for people, but also its culture, then this atmosphere of mistrust will remain.

“So I want to be crystal clear, in front of the British people today – we will leave no stone unturned.

“I was the prosecutor who first spotted failures in grooming cases at my institution the [Crown Prosecution Service] 14 years ago. And I was the prosecutor who first did something about it, by bringing the rape gangs in Rochdale to justice.

“And so my approach as prime minister will be no different. If any shortcomings are now holding back the ability of this country to keep its citizens and its children safe, I will find them and I will root them out.”

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Exclusive: How One Labour Minister Is ‘Smashing’ Tory Attempts To Revive The Culture Wars

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A Labour minister is waging a one-woman battle against Tory MPs’ obsession with culture war issues.

Diana Johnson has slapped down queries on gender neutral toilets, flags, decolonisation of artworks and diversity advisers.

HuffPost UK revealed last week how former Conservative chairman Richard Holden called for the removal of gender neutral toilets his own government installed.

Johnson told him: “The current number and location of gender neutral toilets in the Home Office’s Marsham office was established under the previous government in October 2017, at a cost of £36,963.20, and has remained unchanged since that time.”

It has now emerged that Johnson has also batted away several questions from Nick Timothy, the Tory MP for West Suffolk, on a similar theme.

In a written question Last October, he asked the home secretary “whether she plans to decolonise the artwork and heritage assets in her department; and what guidance she issues to her department’s arm’s length bodies on decolonisation.”

Replying for the government, Johnson told him: “Our immediate priorities remain the protection of national security, the restoration of neighbourhood policing, tackling the smuggling gangs responsible for small boat crossings and clearing up the chaos left by the previous government.”

In December, Timothy asked if the Home Office “will take steps to remove diversity and inclusion advisers and champion positions”.

Johnson told him those posts “were established under the previous government” and the reasons for having them “remain relevant today”.

Earlier this month, Timothy wanted to know which flags the home secretary planned to fly outside the Home Office “other than the Union flag in the next 12 months and on which days each flag will be flown”.

Johnson replied: “Current Home Office ministers have not been consulted on this issue since coming to office, but prompted by [Timothy’s] question, we have advised that there should be no change from the arrangements in place under the previous government, whatever they may have been.”

A Labour source said: “The Tories keep serving them up, and Diana Johnson keeps smashing them away. But there’s a serious point here. The only people in Westminster who care about any of this culture war stuff are the Tories.

“They’re the ones constantly obsessing about flags, toilets and artworks, while ministers in this government could not care less.

“Speak to any minister right now, and all they’re focused on is how they’re going to deliver their mission targets, what they can do to support growth, and where the money’s coming from.

“The idea they’ve got the time or headspace to think about what flags should be flying outside their department is a joke, and it’s no wonder the Tories left things in such a mess if that’s how they were spending every day.”

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Cabinet Minister Slams Sadiq Khan As Labour Splits Emerge Ahead Of Trump Return

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A cabinet minister has slapped down Sadiq Khan after he suggested that the return of Donald Trump shows that “the spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West”.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said he and the government do not agree with the London mayor’s comments, which he made in an article in The Observer ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president on Monday.

Khan said: “We should be in no doubt, this is a perilous moment. The spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West.

“But in London, we’ve shown that we can defeat the politics of fear and division, with hope, unity and practical policies – such as free school meals, fares freezes, free skills training and social housebuilding that improve people’s lives.

“To ward off the far right, we must be unflinching in defence of our democracy and values, and in our determination to enhance the welfare and material conditions of our communities.”

On BBC1 this morning, Laura Kuenssberg told Jones: “This is something that your colleague Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has said. He told the Observer newspaper he’s worried about fascism and the march of the Right.

“Now that is aimed pretty directly at Donald Trump. Is he wrong?”

Jones replied: “Yes, and I don’t agree with that. President-elect Trump won an enormous election victory in the United States. As a democracy we support democracy and the American people elected Donald Trump and the Republican Party and we respect that mandate.”

Kuenssberg said: “So why is a senior Labour figure out there making that case?”

The minister said: “Well he’s allowed to, but I don’t agree with it. I speak on behalf of the government and we don’t agree with it.

“President-elect Trump has an important mandate in the United States and we look forward to working with him in the interests of both our economies.”

Sadiq Khan has had a number of run-ins with Trump in the past.

In June, Trump said London the was “unrecognisable” after “Europe opened its doors to Jihad”.

But Khan hit back: “Today is an opportunity to show Donald Trump and my Tory opponent that London will always choose hope over fear and unity over division.”

Trump’s comments echoed those he made ahead of a visit to the UK in 2018, in which he personally attacked London mayor Khan over the London Bridge terror attack the previous year.

The then president said: “I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad. I look at cities in Europe, and I can be specific if you’d like. You have a mayor who has done a terrible job in London. He has done a terrible job.”

In response, Khan told HuffPost UK: “I’m happy to meet President Trump and to explain to him, in a respectful, courteous manner, where I think he’s wrong on a number of issues.”

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Liz Truss Has Gone To Washington For Donald Trump’s Inauguration And The Online Reaction Is Not Kind

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Liz Truss has gone to America for Donald Trump’s inauguration as president – and the social media reaction is pretty much what you would expect.

The UK’s shortest-serving prime minister donned a ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball cap to pose for a picture in Washington DC.

Posting on X, Truss – who lost her seat at the general election – said: “In DC. The Donald Trump term can’t come soon enough. The West needs it.”

Unfortunately for the former Tory leader, who only lasted 44 days in No. 10 before being ousted by her MPs in the aftermath of her disastrous mini-Budget, her presence across the pond has been widely ridiculed online.

Some pointed out that with her red hat, blue coat and bag, she bore more than a passing resemblance to Paddington Bear.

The prime minister hit back last week: “It wasn’t written in green ink but it might as well have been.”

The New European magazine simply said: “Many people thought Liz Truss couldn’t embarrass herself further. But they seriously underestimated her on that front.”

More obscurely, there was even a reference to Scottish band The Proclaimers’ most famous song, “Letter From America”.

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Trump Fumbles ‘Congratulations’ To Education Pick In Massive Announcement Goof-Up

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President-elect Donald Trump on Friday used his Truth Social platform to reveal that he wants “Peggy Schwinn” to serve as the deputy secretary of education in his new administration.

But his announcement didn’t get a passing grade, as he misstated the name of his own pick, former Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn.

Trump, who praised Schwinn’s “strong record of delivering results for children and families” and pointed to her résumé, repeatedly referred to his pick as “Peggy” in the post.

“A former teacher herself, Peggy became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump wrote.

“Congratulations to Peggy and her wonderful family!”

The post with the “Peggy” error remained on Truth Social as of early Saturday morning.

Trump has a history of fumbling or outright forgetting names, once misspelling his own name on social media.

Last year, after questioning President Joe Biden’s mental acuity and urging him to take a cognitive test, Trump referred to Representative Ronny Jackson — a White House physician for part of his own first term in the Oval Office — as “Ronny Johnson.”

Trump, while on the 2024 campaign trail, memorably mixed up the names of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before suggesting that he “purposely” meant to “interpose” their names. (Critics noted that he didn’t accurately use the word “interpose” at the time).

Trump has also called officials by the wrong name as they sat next to him, referred to his future vice presidential running mate JD Vance as “JP” and “JD Mandel,” called former President Jimmy Carter “Jimmy Connors” and used the name “Rick Gates” while talking about then-Representative Matt Gaetz.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Verbal Spin On Donald Trump Leaves Critics Dizzy

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Conspiracy theory-peddling Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican, Georgia) on Wednesday raised eyebrows with her attempted spin on Donald Trump’s reported walking back of one of his campaign vows.

The president-elect had promised to immediately “fix” and settle the Russia-Ukraine war (which Russia began with its invasion in February 2022) on his return to the White House.

“I would fix that within 24 hours, and if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled,” Trump at one point even boasted to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

But, this week, days before Trump’s return to the Oval Office, his advisers admitted it would take months to stop the fighting because the situation was more complex than Trump had talked about on the trail.

Greene defended the walk-back by claiming Trump hadn’t actually promised what he had actually promised.

“I think you need to understand language,” Greene told the non-profit news organisation NOTUS. “And everyone else in America understands that language.”

“I don’t think the media pressing Day One is specifically ‘Day One,’” Greene continued. “But he’s talking about that as one of his first roles as president, and there are many. He’s going to be writing hundreds of executive orders but, yes, ending that war is important.”

Trump will “be the one that ends that war,” she added.

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Hamas And Israel Have Finally Agreed To A Ceasefire Deal. Here’s What You Need to Know

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Israel and Hamas have finally reached a ceasefire deal after more than a year of devastating conflict in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

While negotiators in Qatar announced an agreement had been reached on Wednesday evening, it is not yet set in stone as the Israeli cabinet have still to vote in favour of it.

Here’s what you need to know.

Recap: How did the Israel-Hamas war start?

While tensions between the two sides have been high ever since the state of Israel was established in 1948, this particular war started on October 7, 2023.

Hamas militants, backed by the Iranian regime, crossed into Israeli land and killed 1,200 people and took a further 251 others hostage.

Israel declared war on Gaza – where Hamas is based – and launched a land offensive, locking down the Palestinian territory borders and bombarding the territory with missiles.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says there have been more than 46,600 deaths in the region since the war began.

But, according to an independent study published in The Lancet, this is an underestimate. The researchers claim Israeli forces have killed more than 64,000 people in Gaza since October 2023.

The vast majority of the territory’s 2.3 million population has also been displaced due to the war, with little food, fuel, medicine or shelter due to the Israeli obstruction of aid at Gaza’s borders.

As of January 15, it is believed there are 94 Israeli people still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom are presumed dead.

The war also increased tensions between Israel and other Iranian proxies across the Middle East, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.

Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire deal in November 2024.

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.

via Associated Press

What are the terms of the new ceasefire agreement?

If signed off, the deal will come into effect from Sunday – meaning fighting continues on the ground right now – and there will be three phases.

The first six-week phase will see 33 Hamas hostages – children, women, the elderly, the sick and injured – released.

In exchange, Israel will free a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including around 1,000 who were detained after the October 7 attacks.

Once the deal is agreed to, the names of all those due for release – some of whom are serving time for murder or terrorism – will be published and the families of any victims will have 48 hours to appeal.

Israeli troops will then begin withdrawing from built up urban areas and relocating to buffer zones which are no more than 700 metres inside Gaza’s border with Israel.

However, that could exclude Israel’s 4km militarised belt across the middle of the territory which is meant to control movement in Gaza. That withdrawal will be staggered.

Israel will also allow displaced Palestinians in the south to head north again, and up to 600 trucks of aid may be permitted into the area, which is currently in the throes of a major humanitarian crisis.

It’s not clear if displaced Gazans will be screened before returning to their homes, as Israeli negotiators had asked.

Wounded civilians will also be allowed to leave the territory for treatment.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt will be opened a week after the first phase begins.

Israeli forces would be able to stay near the Gaza-Egypt border in the Philadelphi Corridor temporarily, but will have to withdraw completely by the 50th day after the deal comes into effect.

The subsequent two stages would be negotiated once the first stage of the ceasefire has started – meaning sustained peace is still pretty precarious.

It’s thought Hamas may agree to release the remaining living captives and Israel would free further Palestinian prisoners while also completely withdrawing from Gaza.

They have been agreed to in principle and mediators in Egypt, Qatar and the US promised Hamas the subsequent stages would be agreed to before stage 1′s six weeks is up.

However, Israel has refused to offer a written guarantee that it would not resume its attacks after the first phase, when the Hamas captives are returned.

The far-right members of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet could also refuse to any such further agreements, as they have previously called for the PM to push his troops forward in Gaza until Hamas are fully defeated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024.

via Associated Press

This is yet to be hashed out, but will most likely see all the remaining bodies of the Hamas hostages who died in captivity returned.

A three to five year reconstruction plan for Gaza may also be on the cards, overseen by international authorities.

It remains unclear exactly who would rule Gaza after the ceasefire as it is currently under Hamas’ control.

The US want to reform the Palestinian Authority – which is in control in the West Bank – to take over.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said Arab states should provide security in the short term, although many such countries may only agree if there is a scheme for Palestinian statehood outlined.

Israel is opposed to Palestinian statehood, but is yet to offer an alternative.

Who put forward the final plan?

The US, Qatar and Egypt developed the plan and presented it to both Israel and Hamas.

Envoys for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have tried to take credit for any success, although it was the outgoing Democrat president who first outlined the plan eight months ago.

In a press conference on Wednesday, he said: “The result [is] not only of the extreme pressure Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and the weakening of Iran – but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy.”

But Biden also gave his successor a nod of recognition during his speech, acknowledging that Trump pressured both parties earlier this month and demanded the release of hostages before the president’s inauguration.

The president-elect posted on social media that the deal “could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November”.

Netanyahu thanked them both, while Hamas’ chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said the deal was a “milestone in the conflict with the enemy” – although he warned the Palestinians “will not forget, and we will not forgive”.

Why did they reach an agreement now?

US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said the deal is similar to the one put forward last May but it’s thought the upcoming change in the White House was the biggest driver.

Trump’s inauguration (January 20) has applied pressure to the talks – and it’s thought Benjamin Netanyahu was hoping to seal the deal as a welcome present for the president-elect’s return.

According to the Israeli media, Trump’s envoy told the Israeli PM over the weekend that a peace deal had to happen.

Representatives from Israel and Hamas then started to conduct indirect talks in the same building for the first time.

Blinken also pointed to regional changes, saying in a press conference on Tuesday: “Hamas has been decimated. Iran is on its back foot.”

He said Hezbollah is also a “shadow of its former self” and pointed out that the Assad regime in Syria had also fallen.

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Blow For Keir Starmer As Labour Tie With Reform And Tories Take Narrow Lead In Latest Poll

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Labour are on par with Reform while the Conservatives are just one point ahead in a damning new poll on the UK’s voting intentions.

The Tories are ahead on 25% while Labour and Reform are on 24%, according to research from More in Common and published by Politico.

The Liberal Democrats trail behind all three on 12% – despite having 72 MPs to Reform’s 5 – while the Greens are on 8% and the SNP on 3%.

More in Common also found prime minister Keir Starmer’s personal net approval rating dropped to -39, which is the lowest the pollsters have ever recorded for him.

It’s even approaching his predecessor Rishi Sunak’s low point of -41 in July 2024, which was when the former PM lost the general election.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform leader Nigel Farage have also seen a decline in their net approval ratings in recent months – Badenoch is on -18 and Farage -17.

More in Common asked the public who they would prefer as their prime minister – and the results did not exactly correspond with the voting intentions.

Starmer was in the lead with 21%, while Farage followed with 20% and Badenoch came in last with 12% – while a whopping 47% said they wanted none of the three main party leaders to sit in No.10.

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Our latest @Moreincommon_ voting intention in today’s Playbook finds a virtual 3 way tie with 1 point separating the Tories, Reform and Labour.
🌳 Con 25% (-1)
🌹 Lab 24% (-2)
➡️ Ref UK 24% (+2)
🔶 Lib Dem 12% (-)
🌍 Green 8% (+1)
🟡 SNP 3% (-)
N= 2102, 10-13/1 Change w 8/1 pic.twitter.com/axOsQVyhP1

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) January 15, 2025

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Our latest @Moreincommon_ voting intention in today’s Playbook finds a virtual 3 way tie with 1 point separating the Tories, Reform and Labour.
🌳 Con 25% (-1)
🌹 Lab 24% (-2)
➡️ Ref UK 24% (+2)
🔶 Lib Dem 12% (-)
🌍 Green 8% (+1)
🟡 SNP 3% (-)
N= 2102, 10-13/1 Change w 8/1 pic.twitter.com/axOsQVyhP1

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) January 15, 2025

It comes as Starmer is already grappling with a floundering economy and the resignation of his second minister in just over six months.

Tulip Siddiq quit as the anti-corruption minister on Tuesday over her links to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was recently deposed as the prime minister of Bangladesh and is currently under investigation for corruption.

A fact-finding probe found Siddiq had not broken the ministerial code, but she announced she was stepping down because she did not want to be a “distraction” to the government.

Meanwhile, inflation continues to hover above the 2% mark – having dropped to 2.5% in December – while government borrowing costs remain high and the pound has fallen in value.

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